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Outbreak on Lanos
"As most of you are aware, the people of Lanos welcomed the Separatist invasion, believing it was liberation 'from their crushing servitude to the corrupt and decayed Republic.' We kept an outpost there in secret to monitor how far the occupation would go. About a month ago, our spies reported Separatist scientists were experimenting with a new and deadly bioweapon. Now that we've lost contact, we fear the worst." : ―Gram Alnin, to the Jedi War Council In the latter half of 20 BBY, a massive outbreak of an infection known as Ceyords occurred on Lanos as a result of a Confederate bioweapons project. The project, intended to damage Clone troopers' minds and render them brain dead, was developed on the Separatist world of Lanos—having been under a voluntary Droid occupation—using a type of fungus native to the planet and neared completion. However, as the scientists began testing the Ceyords Infection by releasing the airborne form, it spread faster than they could control it. Within days, the infection spread to half of Lanos, causing those who became infected by inhaling the gas to turn into belligerent, mindless cannibals within 24 hours. The Republic Outpost on Lanos sealed their position and were preparing to evacuate when an explosion at one of the fuel tanks created a hole in the outer wall, allowing the Infected to invade. Suspecting a Confederate attack, Jedi Generals Obi-Wan Kenobi, Gram Alnin and Kyle Redbreak led a task force to Lanos to extract the remaining Republic crew. When they arrived, they found the planet in ruins, with pockets of survivors living either in heavily-policed quarantine zones, independent settlements or vagrant pirate bands. The outbreak As Confederate scientists began testing the Ceyords Infection's airborne form, it spread at a faster rate than anticipated, seeping into city sewers and forming fungus spores. Days later, hundreds of citizens became infected, resulting in mass panic and planet-wide chaos, with the Battle Droid presence and Lanosian militia becoming the only law, constructing quarantine zones and killing anyone they believed to be infected. Resistance and pirate groups formed within the following several weeks, attacking military patrols and hoarding rations and supplies. A group of smugglers also formed: survivors working an illegal black market to get supplies and food into the zones away from the tyranny of the remaining Confederate troops. The Clone Troopers of the outpost also aided the survivors in secret, working with the smugglers in providing relief and supplies until their position was overrun. Republic operation Nearly six months after the outbreak, Gram Alnin, accompanied by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Kyle Redbreak, formed a small task force―consisting of Commanders Blake, Cody, Branch, ARC Captain Blazer, and troopers Clasher, Jumper, Boil, Pierce and Buck―to travel to the outpost on Lanos and extract the surviving Republic personnel. Arriving over Lanos in a Nu-class shuttle, the team scanned scattered and isolated pockets of power and technology while a majority of the planet was covered in plant life. More peculiar was that some of the plant life readings were mixed with sentient life forms. Most of the planet's cities lay in ruins; one destroyed Separatist position fired malfunctioning anti-air missiles at the rescue team's shuttle, causing it to crash into a ravine. As they began emerge from the wreckage and salvage what supplies they could, the Jedi and Clones had their first encounter with the infected, realizing that the disease covered the host's brain with the Ceyords fungus, resulting in their aggressive behavior. Finding a quarantine zone within three kilometers of their crash site, the team made their way towards it, avoiding further infected citizens and Separatist patrols. As a horde of infected began pursuing them, the team found a small, abandoned bunker and narrowly escaped into it. They soon found that it was a Separatist weapons lab, one of the locations of development of the Ceyords infection. Alnin, Redbreak and Kenobi searched through the surviving records, learning more of the disease: it was created using a variant of the Ceyords fungus, native to Lanos, and entered the host's body either by inhaling gas from Ceyords spores or coming in contact with bodily fluid of an infected (most commonly via bite wound), covering their brain with fungal growths and causing extremely aggressive and cannibalistic behavior within a standard rotation period. Upon this discovery, the team was ambushed by a group of pirates running an illegal shipping operation. After a brief firefight, the Jedi and Clones donned the pirates' outfits and weapons to blend into the crowd of the city. Having sneaked past the other pirates, they eventually made their way through a hidden passage to a black market, with survivors selling goods in exchange for ration cards, the remaining means of currency on Lanos. Enlisting Smugglers : Redbreak: "I can't bear watching these soldiers murder their own people. It borders on genocide." : Alnin: "There are no saviors here. The only good left in this world are the survivors. And if we are to stop this infection from leaving the planet or damaging it any further, we must go along with these smugglers." : Redbreak: "If we can ''trust them, that is." : '''Kenobi:' "We don't have much choice in the matter. Let's just get in contact with the fleet and get another extraction team down here. The sooner we do, the sooner we can save these people and stop this sickness." : ―Kyle Redbreak, Gram Alnin and Obi-Wan Kenobi, discussing their new alliance As the group made their way through the market, Redbreak spotted the man from the vision of a necklace found near the city―a man who had lost his daughter in the outbreak. The Jedi decided to follow him and his partner to see if they could locate a transmitter through them. However, the two smugglers discovered them while listening to their conversation and initially assumed they were pirates attempted to steal their merchandise. Alnin, Redbreak and Kenobi―posing as spice traders under the aliases of Denteri, Bari and Ben, respectively―explained that they were stranded on Lanos and were only looking for either a way to make profit or a way off of the planet (or both). However wary of the travelers, the smugglers, Jole and Tessa, agreed to aid them on the condition that they didn't cost them any of their weapons. The smugglers agreed to meet with Alnin, Redbreak and Kenobi after settling a score with a rival smuggler, a Rodian named Trebor. While originally planning to await the smugglers' return, the group witnessed an ambush on an MTT carried out by a local resistance band known as the Vectors, forcing Tessa and Jole to find an alternate route to Trebor. The Jedi and Clones followed them to their destination, encountering another group of infected and a patch of gas-emanating spores that caused the outbreak. After watching the smugglers' encounter with Trebor, resulting in the latter attempting to make an escape, Kenobi assisted in cornering the pirate for Jole and Tessa to interrogate. They learned that Trebor had sold a shipment of blasters, belonging to Jole and Tessa, to the Vectors as part of a debt. Tessa subsequently killed Trebor as the leader of the Vectors, a Bothan female named Mor'lyn, arrived to speak with him. Mor'lyn explained that if the smugglers wanted their weapons back, they would have to earn them by smuggling something out of the city, with the aid of the newly arrived "spice traders." Mor'lyn eventually revealed at her safehouse that they were required to smuggle Elissa, a teenage human survivor, to the Lanosian capitol building to meet with a group of Vector soldiers, who would transport her from there. Though Mor'lyn would not state her intentions behind this mission, Jole and Tessa reluctantly agreed on the condition that they received their payment immediately. Alnin, Redbreak and Kenobi agreed to assist, having realized that the capitol building was on the outside of the main city, near where the Republic Outpost was. Journey through the ruins The group traveled through one of the smugglers' tunnels to outside of the quarantine zone's wall and progressed into the ruins of the main capitol city. However, as they moved away from the wall, the group was divided by Droid tank patrol. One half of the group, composed of Gram, Kyle, Jole, Tessa, and Elissa hid in a destroyed speeder truck while the other half, the rest of the clones led by Obi-Wan, took an alternative route. On the other end of the truck, Jole and Alnin were caught off guard by a patrol of two Soldiers and two Super Battle Droids that captured the group. As they were scanned and reported, Elissa attacked one of the Soldiers, aided by Redbreak, Tessa shot the other soldier and the Jedi dispatched the droids. Jole realized why Elissa had wanted to evade the scan when he read the results: she was infected. However, she claimed the bite wound was two weeks old, leading them to realize that she was immune. They regrouped with the others, only to be ambushed again by the Droids and Soldiers, and fled into the sewers. Having lost their pursuers, Gram and Tessa inquired as to what the Vectors' plan was with Elissa. She said that they were to get her to the escort group at the capitol building so that they could give her proper medical examinations to possibly find a vaccine for the infection. Though Jole expressed his doubts, Tessa insisted they complete their task. Traveling through the crumbled remains of the city―a result of the Lanosians' attempts to clear out infected―they neared the Republic Outpost. While Jole and Tessa appreciated the help the Clone Troopers there provided, they were skeptical of entering as it had been overrun with infected. But Alnin, Kenobi and Redbreak convinced them to cut through it on their way to the capitol building, hoping to find a functioning transmitter. Unfortunately, while attempting to pass through, they were attacked by the infected again. As they made their escape to the outpost, they found that trooper Buck had been infected. Kenobi saved Elissa from being attacked by the infected clone, only to be attacked himself. In a panicked haste, Sergeant Clasher gave the Jedi his lightsaber to defend himself, exposing the "spice traders'" true identities. Escaping into the outpost, the three Jedi explained themselves as to why they were there, and stated that they still had every intention of escorting Elissa to the Vector escort waiting at the capitol building. When Clasher and Boil restored ample power to the transmitter, Kenobi sent out a message on the status of their mission. Jedi Cruiser Serenity responded to the call and would send a rescue team as soon as their patrol was finished. The Jedi had Cody, Branch and Blake accompany them, leaving the remaining clones at the outpost to salvage any supplies, and continued to the capitol building with Elissa and the smugglers. However, when they arrived, they found that the Vector escort awaiting them had been killed by the Lanosian military. Jole offered that he and Tessa simply return home, but the latter frantically insisted that they continue on to the Vectors through Jole's brother and ex-Vector, Trig. When Jole questioned as to why she was suddenly so determined, Alnin realized that she had been infected. Tessa admitted this and compared her bite wound to Elissa's, further proving the latter's immunity and that it could potentially revert the Ceyords infection. Just then, a military patrol arrived to eradicate any other Vectors. Tessa offered to sacrifice herself to allow Jole, Elissa, the Jedi and the clones to escape: they reluctantly agreed and made their way through the lower levels to the outside of the city as Tessa chose to save them rather than fall to the infection. The Settlements Fihl's Town : "I have a feeling they'll be as relieved as we'll be when this is all over." : "Yes. Once Lanos is free of this nightmare, lives like theirs can be restored. ...for the most part." : "They'll certainly be glad to have ''us gone." : ―Alnin, Redbreak and Kenobi, on the smugglers' attitude towards their mission After escaping the soldiers at the capitol, the group made their way to a small town a few kilometers north of the city where an associate of Jole and Tessa's resided, one who hoarded large amounts of supplies and other items for the smugglers to use: a paranoid Weequay scavenger named Fihl. The Weequay smuggler had set a multitude of explosive traps for the infected and any other wanderers. Though Jole managed to avoid most of them, he and Alnin were suddenly caught by a counter-weighted trap, suspending them upside down. Elissa and Redbreak managed to cut them down, but a horde of infected heard the noise and attacked them. Fihl narrowly saved them and led them to one of his safehouses. However, Fihl placed binders on Elissa and incapacitated the clones, forcing the Jole, Gram, Kyle and Obi-Wan onto their knees to inspect them for signs of infection. After convincing him none of them were infected, Jole quickly asked Fihl if he had a speeder available, but Fihl was skeptical of the job he had apparently taken smuggling a young girl with a group of Jedi and Clone Troopers. Despite this, Fihl agreed to aid them on the condition that they help him gather the supplies necessary. After restocking on ammunition and blasters―with Jole refusing to allow Elissa to wield a weapon beyond her knife―Fihl led the group to the other side of town were a damaged militia patrol speeder sat with a functional battery. As Fihl salvaged the necessary parts, they were once again attacked by the infected. Within the school, they encountered an infected known as a "flater", one that had received a severe case of the Ceyords infection over a long period of time. The Jedi and Clones volunteered to hold it off while Fihl repaired a speeder. After dispatching the overgrown infected, with the aid of Elissa, the team followed Fihl to a large landspeeder where he had been able to install the battery and get enough power flowing. As they moved it out onto the road, yet another group of infected came after them; they quickly started the speeder and made their escape away from the town. They dropped Fihl off at the outskirts, who spoke briefly with Jole about his mission: though he was still uncertain about it―believing such a group would only result in all of their deaths―he provided a universal power converter to them. They then continued westward where Trig was located. Trig's Settlement Traveling through the night, the group made their way to the settlement out west where Trig was based. Once they arrived there, they were initially held at gunpoint, worrying the Jedi that Trig would refuse to assist them due to his past disagreements with Jole. However, Trig welcomed his older brother with open arms and showed them around his compound, where they had repaired a power generator and started a thriving operation of farming and defense for a small town in the nearby valley, consisting of over twenty families of survivors. As the Jedi and Clones entered the facility, they discovered the surviving crew of the Republic Outpost; the four Clone troopers that aided the smugglers and Trig's group: Drel, Longo, Eten, and the outpost's officer, CS-28-2992 "Von" from the 97th Sustainment Battalion of the Thirteenth Army. After the outpost had been overrun, the surviving crew members escaped and traveled with Trig's group to help them build their new home. Trig and Jole departed from the rest to speak privately regarding Elissa's case while Trig's fiancée and the head of the community, Riama, showed Elissa, Gram, Kyle and Obi-Wan around the community. The Jedi discussed, much to Elissa's discomfort, that they needed to hand her off to the Vectors and warn the Republic of the infection as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Trig and Jole saw that the generator was maintained to good standing then spoke privately about his mission. Jole explained that Elissa was somehow immune to the Ceyords infection and that he needed to escort her to the Vector outpost somewhere to the west so that a cure could be found. Trig was willing to give Jole and his allies additional weapons and supplies, but refused to personally take Elissa to the Vectors, stating that they were no longer his cause―his new cause was his family and community. Jole had little patience for his brother's usual self-reservedness, but before he could argue it further, the facility came under attack by bandits. After the bandits were repelled, Trig reconsidered Jole's task and reasoned with Riama to allow him. Despite the dangers the journey presented, as demonstrated by the bandit raid, Riama reluctantly allowed him to go. Just as Trig informed Jole that he would escort Elissa to the Vectors, Blake reported that she had stolen one of the horses and rode away. Jole, Trig, Gram, Kyle and Obi-Wan followed her tracks to an abandoned shack. As the Jedi fended off the bandits nearby, Jole confronted Elissa on her behavior. She had fled because, despite everything, he and the Jedi wanted to hand her off to be escorted by someone else when she had already shown that she could handle herself. When Jole insisted that she do as he said, she reminded him that she was not his daughter (made aware of the incident by Von), Sara. Jole coldly agreed with her on that note and brought her back with Trig to the Jedi on an overlook of the town. As they prepared to depart, Jole asked Trig where the Vector lab was, and then told the Jedi that he would accompany them in escorting Elissa so that Trig to tend to his family. Trig reminded him that he was welcome in their community. The group then left for the city of Eado, leaving Trig and the Clones to aid the town. Eado Ambush The group continued in their landspeeder towards the Vector base in Eado, but when they arrived, they discovered much of the area to be deserted. Venturing further into the city, they discovered a limping man begging for assistance. While Elissa asked if they should stop and help him, Jole stated that he wasn't injured and accelerated rapidly. This caused the group of pirates hiding out of sight to launch an ambush in an effort to overrun the vehicle. In the attempt to escape, the group's speeder was sent out of control into a small building. The group warded off the attackers and quickly fled into a nearby building. Jole explained to them that the pirates were known as Hunters, survivors who inhabited abandoned quarantine zones and hunted and killed any stragglers they found for supplies. This also led them to realize that the Vectors had fled the city. As they investigated the Vector building, the Jedi found an operating computer console and retrieved a map of the area. Then, they followed a hunter landspeeder―that had just killed two stragglers―to the main Vector building. Battling their way inside, with the assistance of Elissa (Jole now allowing her wield a blaster), Alnin found a holorecorder containing a message. An infected Vector soldier recorded the message just before committing suicide, informing them that the Vectors had moved on from Eado to their main quarantine zone in Solit City. Jole said he knew of the city, but it was a long way from where they were without transport. Just then, they heard a crash from upstairs. They followed the source to a large laboratory and found a Wookiee rummaging through the leftover supplies. It nearly strangled Jole at first, but upon seeing that the others were Jedi―and more importantly that a young girl was among them―it stood down and informed its nearby comrade that they weren't hunters. The Wookiee, whom Alnin and Kenobi identified as Chewbacca, came to Lanos with his younger friend Sehcca on a hunting trip, were abducted by the hunters and brought to Eado for additional targets. However, the two Wookiees escaped the city and found other survivors using an old military shed for a base. They agreed to take Jole, Elissa, Gram, Kyle and Obi-Wan to their hideout and await any of the other survivors. Navigating through a large tunnel, they encountered more hunters and infected. As they were making their escape, having defeated most of their enemies, Jole fell from his sniper position and took a serious blow to the abdomen. Though Jole eventually lost consciousness from his wound, leaving Elissa worried, Kyle managed to use his Force healing techniques and Chewbacca applied the anti-biotics kit on the wound, just barely saving his life. Cannibals : "''We seek out those who could help us. If they have some special talent, they join us. If they don't, then they have no place here. It depends on the last haul, but we usually simply add to the food supply. You must understand, my crew comes first; I can't have an extra mouth to feed if they can't earn their keep. ... I wouldn't send any of them back out there. That would be cruel. We stun them―really helps if they don't move―and then give them a lethal injection. We did it to survive, and not one of them felt any pain, I promise you. I'm certain you could respect that. In a way, you could say we were putting them out of their misery. The misery of living on this planet." : ―Darster, explaining his group's cannibalism to Kyle and Elissa When Jole regained consciousness, he found that Elissa and Sehcca had both been caring for him. However, as the group gathered the available supplies and prepared to move on to Solit City, Sehcca suddenly turned and attacked Elissa. Chewbacca stopped the others from intervening at first, and then was forced to kill Sehcca himself. Chewbacca's grief over this loss soon turned to rage towards Jole, believing it was because of him that Sehcca was injured. Ignoring the Jedi's console, he stormed out taking most of the supplies with him. Obi-Wan and Elissa would later bury Sehcca's body. Once Jole was fit enough to walk (with support), the group continued on, with Elissa usually keeping to herself to cope with the loss. When they set up camp one night, Kyle followed after Elissa to ensure she was all right, but while he attempted to reassure her, they were discovered by a group of infected and chased into a corner, only to be saved by a band of survivors inside a shed in a small village. The leader, named Darster, explained that he and his group made regular smuggling runs to Lanos, even after the outbreak, but they were soon shot down by the malfunctioning defenses and forced to take refuge in the vacant town. Elissa and Kyle soon realized that they survived by eating stragglers they came across who could not provide them adequate assistance. Just as they learned this, however, two men grabbed Elissa while Darster subdued Redbreak and took his lightsaber. But as the men prepared to inject her, they discovered her bite wound. Their surprise gave her an opportunity to break away, only to have Darster closely pursue her. At that time, Jole, Gram and Obi-Wan heard the horde of infected and made their way to the shed, arriving in time to save Kyle. They killed the remaining cannibals as Jole began to search frantically for Elissa. They found her in a burning tapcafe fighting Darster with her knife; though she disarmed him of the lightsaber, she became cornered. As Jole and the Jedi finally reached her past the debris, she had just barely grabbed the lightsaber and was forced to drive it into Darster's skull. Jole pulled her away from the scene and tenderly consoled her before they had to keep moving. Solit City After a long period of travel, the group finally reached Solit City, discovering it to be another quarantine zone abandoned by the military. As they entered the city, they discovered a heard of wild Gualaar, with which Elissa was captivated. The Jedi then made contact with the Serenity, which had finally managed to enter the Lanos system after being attacked by Confederate fleets, and gunships were sent to rescue the rest of the team. As they group made their way towards the nearby hospital, where they presumed the Vectors would be, Jole suggested that he and Elissa turn back and begin a new life at Trig's settlement. But Elissa stated she would not turn back after coming so far. As they made their way into an underground tunnel, they encountered a massive horde of infected. Initially, they were able to sneak past them, until a flater stumbled upon them and gave them away. Obi-Wan insisted that Jole take Elissa ahead and deliver her to the Vectors while he, Gram and Kyle held the infected off. Despite their best efforts, the three Jedi were not able to hold back the infected indefinitely. Before they could be overwhelmed, however, two LAAT Gunships led by Norm Warren arrived and dispatched the clone troopers of Hotel Company to help fend off the infected. While they were able to thin out a large portion of the horde, Kenobi followed Jole and Elissa. He ran back to assist them, with the Gunships just behind, to find them struggling on a damaged catwalk and a derelict airspeeder just above a river. Before Obi-Wan could help, both of them fell into the waters. Remembering Elissa's inability to swim, the Jedi quickly went over the other side of a cave-in where the river let out to find Elissa unconscious with Jole attempting to revive her. At that moment, two Vector guards arrived and knocked Jole out. Kyle jumped down to the scene and explained to the soldiers. Aftermath : "Back in Tanton, when I was bitten, I wasn't alone. My best friend was there and she got bit too. ...We didn't know what to do... so... she says, 'Let's just wait it out. You know, we can be all elegant like Jedi and just lose our minds together.' ... I'm ''still waiting for my turn. ... Her name was Lyrie, and she was the first to die. Then it was Tessa. And then Sehcca." : "''Elissa... none of that is on you. I struggled for long time with surviving. runs hand over necklace tied to backpack And... you keep finding something to fight for. I know that's not what you want to hear right now, but it's―" : "Swear to me. ...Swear to me that ''everything you've told me about the Vectors is true." : "a moment ...I swear." : "... Okay.''" : ―Elissa inquires about her fate to Jole outside of Trig's settlement The Jedi safely delivered Jole and Elissa, both unconscious, to the Vector hospital and lab. They met with Mor'lyn, who congratulated them on their success and told them that Lanos was not far from seceding from the Confederacy. The Vectors would begin scans on Elissa immediately to find why she was immune and reverse-engineer a vaccine for the Ceyords Infection. The Jedi acknowledged this and departed from Lanos, stopping at Trig's settlement to pick up the remaining clones. When Jole awakened, Mor'lyn informed him of what had happened and had his payment waiting for him in a speeder just below. However, when he asked to visit Elissa, Mor'lyn told him that she was being prepared for surgery: in order to find a cure, they would have to remove Elissa's brain to extract the Ceyords, killing her in the process. When Jole objected, Mor'lyn ordered a Vector soldier to move him away from the lab. After she left, Jole broke free of his captor and fought his way through the guards to the operating room, picking up and carrying Elissa out of the hospital. As he came to the speeder garage, he encountered Mor'lyn, who pleaded with Jole to let Elissa be killed for the sake of finding a cure. Chewbacca was in the garage as well, and appeared to be helping Mor'lyn. However, just as Mor'lyn attempted to take Elissa away, the Wookiee fired a shot through the Bothan's stomach and ordered Jole to take Elissa away and protect her at all costs. Jole laid her into a speeder and, after Chewbacca had departed in an airspeeder back to his ship, executed Mor'lyn. Jole lied to Elissa about the events at the Vector base, telling her instead that there were other immune candidates and the Vectors had abandoned a search for a cure. As they went back to Trig's settlement, Elissa expressed her survivor's guilt and made Jole swear that everything he had told her was true, which he did. Particpants Outcome *Jedi and Clone task force extracted surviving Republic outpost crew members with aid of local smugglers *Remnant Lanosian government seceded from CIS and became neutral *Republic retrieved a small amount of Ceyords virus for analysis at the Grand Republic Medical Facility, per the request of the Supreme Chancellor Category:Events